Wind Turbine FAQs
-
- Start with two questions: how much wind your site actually gets, and how much room you have.
- Vertical turbines (the X-300, H1000 and H2000) start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s and take wind from any direction, so they keep working where the wind swirls and shifts — around buildings, trees and rooflines. They run from 300 W up to 2000 W.
- Horizontal turbines (M-400, M-600, M-800, and the L1, L2 and G series) want cleaner, steadier wind and a clear run at it. In clean, steady wind a horizontal of the same rating is usually the better harvester, and they scale further — 400 W up to 5000 W.
- Match the turbine to your battery bank, not to the biggest number. 12 V suits a camper, 4WD or tinnie; 24 V a van, cabin or boat; 48 V a shed or remote block.
- The largest models run at mains voltage, and the L2-3000, G-3000 and G-5000 are ground-mount only — they need a 10–15 m mast and are not rooftop units.
- Rated power is measured at 10–14 m/s, depending on the model. What you get at your place depends on your wind, your mast height and the season — not on a number on our website.
-
- No. Wind turbines generate "wild" 3-phase AC power that changes voltage constantly with the wind speed.
- Connecting it directly to a battery or a standard solar inverter will destroy your equipment.
- You must wire the turbine into a dedicated wind charge controller (pure-wind or wind-solar hybrid) with a dump-load resistor.
- The controller converts the power to stable DC to charge your batteries safely.
-
Match the turbine and its controller to the voltage of your existing battery bank:
- 12 V: compact mobile setups — caravans, 4WDs and camper trailers.
- 24 V: medium setups — off-grid sheds, cabins and motorhomes.
- 48 V: most of this range, and the sensible choice for a full off-grid system. Higher voltage means less current in the cable, so less loss over a long run and lighter cable.
-
- When your battery bank is fully charged it stops accepting power.
- If a storm hits at night with the batteries full, a turbine with nowhere to send its power will free-spin out of control and can physically fly apart.
- The controller prevents that by diverting the excess into the dump load resistor, which burns it off safely as heat and acts as an electronic brake to slow the turbine down.
- Yes, you need one.
-
- Usually quieter, but not silent — no turbine is.
- Why a Horizontal is Louder: its blade tips travel several times faster than the wind, and blade noise climbs steeply with tip speed. The whoosh rises and falls as each blade comes round — a rhythmic swish that carries through wind noise more than a steady hiss does.
- Why a Vertical is Usually Quieter: its blades turn more slowly, so there is less of that whoosh.
- What we won't Tell you: that it's silent. Every turbine gets louder as the wind picks up. The wind often covers much of it in a strong blow, but a close neighbour can still hear one in light to moderate wind.
- The manufacturer publishes no noise figure for the turbines themselves (the "65 dB or less" on some Specs tabs is the controller's), so we don't quote one.
- On a building, use vibration isolators — a turbine bolted to a structure carries its sound into the rooms — and check your council's rules on noise, height and placement before you order a mast.
-
- It will turn, but turning is not charging. The blades start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s (about 7 to 9 km/h) — a light breeze.
- Charging starts at the cut-in speed: 3 m/s (about 11 km/h) on every model except the X-300, which starts and charges from 2 m/s. Output then climbs steeply with wind speed.
- The rated figure is measured much higher — 10 to 14 m/s depending on the model, a 36 to 50 km/h wind, not a normal afternoon. Each product page's spec table gives that model's own numbers.
- A gentle breeze keeps the turbine ticking over; it takes real wind to push real power into your batteries. Every horizontal model has its measured power curve published on its product page — work from that, not from the number in the product name.
-
- No — small turbines are built to spin fast. The smaller the rotor, the faster it has to turn to keep its blade tips up with the wind: the M-400's 1.35 m rotor runs at about 800 rpm, the M-600 and M-800 at about 500, the big G-series at 300.
- In the manufacturer's words, the high rpm is a design necessity, not a defect. A slower generator would need a bigger stator and more magnets and copper — heavier and dearer.
- They start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s and make power right across the wind range — just less when the wind is light. What you get depends on your site and how high you mount it.
-
- Yes — connect the turbine to a battery bank first, through a dedicated charge controller.
- Never straight to an inverter. Connecting a wind turbine directly to a standard inverter will damage the equipment or cause the system to fail.
The Correct Order:
- 1. Wind Turbine — generates wild, fluctuating 3-phase AC as the wind changes.
- 2. Hybrid or Wind Charge Controller — converts it to steady DC, and protects the turbine from over-speeding with an electronic brake.
- 3. Battery Bank (12 V, 24 V or 48 V) — absorbs the gusts and provides a steady source of energy.
- 4. Off-Grid Inverter — connects to the battery, converting stored DC into AC for your appliances.
Why you Cannot Skip the Battery:
- Unstable Voltage: wind changes second by second. Without a battery to smooth it out, a direct-connected inverter would constantly cut out.
- Turbine Damage: when a battery is full or disconnected, the turbine loses its load. Without that resistance the blades can spin out of control in high wind and destroy the unit. The controller uses the battery connection to dump excess power and slow it down.
-
- This turbine generates 3-phase AC power and cannot be connected directly to a battery, a solar controller or a home inverter.
- It must run through a dedicated wind charge controller (pure-wind or wind-solar hybrid) with a dump-load resistor. The dump load stops the turbine over-speeding and destroying itself in high winds once your batteries are full.
- Installation and commissioning must be carried out by a suitably qualified and licensed electrician.
- Cable, breakers, isolators and all protective devices are selected to suit your site and are the electrician's call, not ours.
-
It is almost always one of three installation issues. Check them in order.
Quick Checks — Tick as You Go
- Is the Meter Set to AC Volts (V~)?
- Does it Spin Freely Once Disconnected from the Controller?
- Is the Cable from the Mast Heavy Enough for the Run?
1. The Multimeter is Set to DC — The Most Common Mistake.
- Measuring the three turbine wires with the meter set to DC volts gives a false reading near zero.
- Wind turbines generate 3-phase AC directly from the stator. Switch the meter to AC volts (V~).
2. The Turbine is Stalling Because of a Short.
- The blades turn heavily and slowly, or lock up: if any of the three AC output wires touch each other, or the controller's braking diodes have short-circuited, it acts as a magnetic brake — the turbine can never spin fast enough to build voltage.
- Disconnect the turbine from the controller. If it frees up and spins much faster, the problem is a short in the wiring or a faulty controller.
3. Voltage Drop from Thin Cable.
- Thin solar or automotive cable over 20 metres or more loses the power as heat before it reaches the controller.
- Use heavy cable between the mast and the controller on long runs — minimum 8 AWG, ideally 6 AWG. Final sizing is your electrician's call.
-
- The number in the name is a peak rating, not a promise.
- A turbine's rated output is measured at a specific wind speed — 10 to 14 m/s depending on the model, which is about 36 to 50 km/h — and most sites see far less than that most of the time.
- Your display shows what the wind is delivering right now, so it will sit well below the rated figure and move second by second as the wind changes. That is physics, not a fault.
- As an example, the L2-2500 is rated 2,500 W at 11 m/s. On a decent steady coastal breeze of 7 m/s the manufacturer's own curve gives about 813 W. That is why we publish the full power curve on every horizontal turbine's product page.
- Where these machines earn their keep is time: they keep charging through the night and through the weather that shuts solar down.
- If the display shows 0 W while the blades are spinning, that is a different problem — see the 0 W question.
-
- Not necessarily — this is one of the most common questions we get, and it is rarely a faulty unit.
- It is usually a quick settings check, or (on a first-time install) how the wiring and start-up sequence were done.
- See our full Wind Turbine 0W Troubleshooting Guide for the complete walkthrough, or the Set-Up Guide — or contact us and we will help you sort it out.
-
- Wire your bus bar and breakers before and after the controller, then power up in the right order. Getting the sequence right prevents almost all wiring issues, including the common "spinning but 0 W" problem.
- Fit a breaker before the controller (turbine/solar side) and after it (battery side), landing on a DC bus bar.
- Keep the turbine-to-controller cable run to 2–10 metres to limit voltage drop.
- Power up in this order: battery breaker first, then solar, then wind turbine last.
- See our full How to Install & Start Up guide for the complete step-by-step walkthrough and wiring diagram.
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Wind Turbine Permanent Magnet Dynamo 12V 24V 48V
Regular price
$600.00 AUD
Unit Price
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Wind Turbine Permanent Magnet Dynamo 12V 24V 48V
Regular priceFrom
$270.00 AUD
Unit Price
A 5kW Dynamo Makes 5kW at 750 RPM, Not at Idle.
The generator is the part of a home-built turbine most people get wrong. Blades, a tail and a tower you can fabricate in a shed. A gearless alternator that still makes useful charge at the speed a rotor actually turns is the bit you have to buy.
This is a three-phase permanent magnet generator (PMG). The field comes from magnets in the rotor, so there is no excitation winding to energise and no gearbox or brushes to service. It is rated at 750 RPM and sold in five outputs — 2000W, 3000W, 5000W, 6000W and 7000W — each wound for a 12V, 24V or 48V bank. Pick the winding that matches the bank you already have, because it is set at the factory and can't be changed later.
Be clear on what it is not. There are no blades, no tail, no tower and no controller in the box. The output is unregulated three-phase AC that rises and falls with rotor speed, so it has to go through a rectifier and a hybrid charge controller before it reaches a battery. The rated wattage is what it makes at 750 RPM — spin it slower and you get a fraction of that. If your rotor won't reach rated speed in the wind or water flow you actually have, size down rather than up.
What it Solves
- Home-Built Wind Turbine: you've got a rotor and a tower sorted and need a direct-drive head that charges without a gearbox in the way.
- Creek-Fed Micro-Hydro: a station or farm with year-round flow can turn this off a pelton wheel or water wheel and charge day and night, not just when the sun's up.
- Shed & Workshop Supply: a work site or farm shed a long way from the meter box, where running mains out is the expensive option.
- Shack, Hut or Mooring: somewhere you only visit some weekends, where the bank needs topping up while nobody's there to run a generator.
- Repowering an Old Turbine: the tower and blades are fine but the original head is finished, and you want to keep the same battery voltage.
Key Features
- Permanent Magnet Field: the magnets sit in the rotor, so nothing has to be fed current to excite the field. It makes power from the first turn.
- Gearless Direct Drive: the rotor bolts to the shaft with no step-up gearbox between them, which removes the parts that normally need oil and replacement.
- Rated at 750 RPM: the quoted wattage is the figure at that speed. Match it against what your rotor will actually do before you order.
- Five Output Sizes: 2000W, 3000W, 5000W, 6000W and 7000W. There is no 4000W option in this range.
- Three System Voltages: 12V, 24V and 48V windings, chosen at order. The winding is fixed — you can't reconfigure it on site.
- Three-Phase Output: three AC leads out to a rectifier or a hybrid controller, which is what turns it into DC your bank can take.
- Aluminium Alloy Housing: the shell is aluminium alloy over an iron core and shaft.
- Mounting Base Included: an iron base comes with it, so it can be bolted down without fabricating a cradle first.
- Two Purchase Options: generator on its own, or generator supplied with a matched electric motor.
Where This Fits
This is one part of the gear that sits between a wind turbine and your battery bank. Here's the whole picture:
- Wind Turbines: vertical and horizontal turbines from 300 W to 5 kW (rated) — and they can charge overnight, when your solar can't.
- Hybrid MPPT Controllers: you can't wire a turbine straight to a battery. The controller rectifies the output, manages the charge, and brakes the turbine when the bank is full.
- The Rest of the Electrical Range: bus bars, breakers, isolators, cable, lugs and Anderson plugs.
Every input and output wants a breaker or isolator on it, so you can safely shut down and isolate the turbine before you touch anything. That protects you, and it stops a surge damaging your new turbine or the rest of your power system. Cable sizing depends on your run length, voltage and current — if you're building 12V or 24V, check the sizing against your own run or ask your sparky.
Q & A
Can I Wire This Straight to my Battery Bank?
No. It puts out unregulated three-phase AC that varies with rotor speed, so it needs a rectifier and a hybrid charge controller in between. Have a look at the hybrid MPPT controllers — the controller also brakes the turbine once the bank is full, which the generator can't do on its own.
Which Voltage Should I Order — 12V, 24V or 48V?
Match the bank you're charging. The winding is set at the factory, so this isn't a switch you flick later. Bear in mind the current: 5000W into a 12V bank is over 400A on the DC side, which means cable and breakers most people don't want to pay for. Above about 2kW, 48V is the easier system to wire.
Will it Actually Make its Rated Wattage?
At 750 RPM, that's the figure. Below that it falls away, and a rotor in light wind spends a lot of its life well below rated speed. Treat the wattage as a ceiling, not an average, and size your bank on what you realistically expect over a day.
What Size is the Shaft, and will my Hub Bolt to it?
The supplier doesn't publish shaft diameter, keyway or the mounting bolt pattern, and we're not going to guess a figure you'd machine to.
Is it Weatherproof Enough to Sit on a Tower?
Don't assume it will shrug off weather on its own. Plan on a nacelle or housing that keeps direct rain off it and lets it drain and breathe, the same as you would for any generator head.
Can I Use it for Micro-Hydro Instead of Wind?
Yes — it doesn't care what turns it. The question is whether your head and flow will hold it near 750 RPM through a pelton wheel or water wheel. Steady flow suits it better than wind does, because the speed stays put.
What's the Difference Between the Two Purchase Options?
"Only Generator" is the generator on its own. "Generator & Electric Motor" adds a matched motor and a shaft coupling, which is what people use for bench testing or for a motor-generator setup. If you're building a turbine or a hydro rig, the generator on its own is the one you want.
Specs
| Specifications | Details |
|---|---|
| Generator Type | Three-Phase Permanent Magnet Generator (PMG), Gearless Direct Drive |
| Power Output Options | 2000W, 3000W, 5000W, 6000W, 7000W (No 4000W) |
| System Voltage Options | 12V, 24V or 48V — winding set at order, not switchable |
| Rated Speed | 750 RPM |
| Output Type | Unregulated three-phase AC — requires a rectifier or hybrid charge controller |
| Cut-in Speed | Not Specified by Supplier |
| Starting Torque | No more than 0.15 Nm at 2000W, 0.2 Nm at 3000W and 0.75 Nm at 5000W, as stated by the supplier. No figure published for 6000W or 7000W |
| Rated Torque | 2.3 Nm at 2000W, 5.7 Nm at 3000W and 6.2 Nm at 5000W, as stated by the supplier. No figure published for 6000W or 7000W |
| Rated Output Current | Not Specified by Supplier |
| Housing | Aluminium Alloy |
| Core & Shaft | Iron |
| Magnet Material | NdFeB (neodymium iron boron) rare-earth magnets, as stated by the supplier |
| Mounting | Iron Mounting Base Included |
| Shaft Diameter & Keyway | Not Specified by Supplier |
| Mounting Bolt Pattern | Not Specified by Supplier |
| Dimensions | Not Specified by Supplier |
| Weight | Not Specified by Supplier |
| Output Leads & Connector | Three flying leads, bare ends, no plug or connector fitted, going by the supplier's photographs. Lead length not specified |
| Ingress Protection (IP) Rating | Not verified. Treat the generator as unprotected and keep direct rain off it |
| Operating Temperature Range | -40°C to +80°C, as Stated by the Supplier |
| Certification | None Stated by Supplier |
| Purchase Options | Generator only, or generator with a matched electric motor and shaft coupling |
| In the Box | Generator & mounting base. No blades, tail, tower or controller |
| Delivery | Free Standard Delivery, no minimum spend. 5 to 10 working days from order date; allow 1–2 days for fulfilment |
Turbine Spinning but Showing 0W?
It is almost never a faulty turbine or controller. Read the 0W troubleshooting & correct installation guide before you assume something is broken.
Watch Me
Everything we know about this one is written down: the Specs for the supplier's published figures, and the Q & A for the questions buyers ask before they order.
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Wind Turbine FAQs
-
- Start with two questions: how much wind your site actually gets, and how much room you have.
- Vertical turbines (the X-300, H1000 and H2000) start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s and take wind from any direction, so they keep working where the wind swirls and shifts — around buildings, trees and rooflines. They run from 300 W up to 2000 W.
- Horizontal turbines (M-400, M-600, M-800, and the L1, L2 and G series) want cleaner, steadier wind and a clear run at it. In clean, steady wind a horizontal of the same rating is usually the better harvester, and they scale further — 400 W up to 5000 W.
- Match the turbine to your battery bank, not to the biggest number. 12 V suits a camper, 4WD or tinnie; 24 V a van, cabin or boat; 48 V a shed or remote block.
- The largest models run at mains voltage, and the L2-3000, G-3000 and G-5000 are ground-mount only — they need a 10–15 m mast and are not rooftop units.
- Rated power is measured at 10–14 m/s, depending on the model. What you get at your place depends on your wind, your mast height and the season — not on a number on our website.
-
- No. Wind turbines generate "wild" 3-phase AC power that changes voltage constantly with the wind speed.
- Connecting it directly to a battery or a standard solar inverter will destroy your equipment.
- You must wire the turbine into a dedicated wind charge controller (pure-wind or wind-solar hybrid) with a dump-load resistor.
- The controller converts the power to stable DC to charge your batteries safely.
-
Match the turbine and its controller to the voltage of your existing battery bank:
- 12 V: compact mobile setups — caravans, 4WDs and camper trailers.
- 24 V: medium setups — off-grid sheds, cabins and motorhomes.
- 48 V: most of this range, and the sensible choice for a full off-grid system. Higher voltage means less current in the cable, so less loss over a long run and lighter cable.
-
- When your battery bank is fully charged it stops accepting power.
- If a storm hits at night with the batteries full, a turbine with nowhere to send its power will free-spin out of control and can physically fly apart.
- The controller prevents that by diverting the excess into the dump load resistor, which burns it off safely as heat and acts as an electronic brake to slow the turbine down.
- Yes, you need one.
-
- Usually quieter, but not silent — no turbine is.
- Why a Horizontal is Louder: its blade tips travel several times faster than the wind, and blade noise climbs steeply with tip speed. The whoosh rises and falls as each blade comes round — a rhythmic swish that carries through wind noise more than a steady hiss does.
- Why a Vertical is Usually Quieter: its blades turn more slowly, so there is less of that whoosh.
- What we won't Tell you: that it's silent. Every turbine gets louder as the wind picks up. The wind often covers much of it in a strong blow, but a close neighbour can still hear one in light to moderate wind.
- The manufacturer publishes no noise figure for the turbines themselves (the "65 dB or less" on some Specs tabs is the controller's), so we don't quote one.
- On a building, use vibration isolators — a turbine bolted to a structure carries its sound into the rooms — and check your council's rules on noise, height and placement before you order a mast.
-
- It will turn, but turning is not charging. The blades start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s (about 7 to 9 km/h) — a light breeze.
- Charging starts at the cut-in speed: 3 m/s (about 11 km/h) on every model except the X-300, which starts and charges from 2 m/s. Output then climbs steeply with wind speed.
- The rated figure is measured much higher — 10 to 14 m/s depending on the model, a 36 to 50 km/h wind, not a normal afternoon. Each product page's spec table gives that model's own numbers.
- A gentle breeze keeps the turbine ticking over; it takes real wind to push real power into your batteries. Every horizontal model has its measured power curve published on its product page — work from that, not from the number in the product name.
-
- No — small turbines are built to spin fast. The smaller the rotor, the faster it has to turn to keep its blade tips up with the wind: the M-400's 1.35 m rotor runs at about 800 rpm, the M-600 and M-800 at about 500, the big G-series at 300.
- In the manufacturer's words, the high rpm is a design necessity, not a defect. A slower generator would need a bigger stator and more magnets and copper — heavier and dearer.
- They start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s and make power right across the wind range — just less when the wind is light. What you get depends on your site and how high you mount it.
-
- Yes — connect the turbine to a battery bank first, through a dedicated charge controller.
- Never straight to an inverter. Connecting a wind turbine directly to a standard inverter will damage the equipment or cause the system to fail.
The Correct Order:
- 1. Wind Turbine — generates wild, fluctuating 3-phase AC as the wind changes.
- 2. Hybrid or Wind Charge Controller — converts it to steady DC, and protects the turbine from over-speeding with an electronic brake.
- 3. Battery Bank (12 V, 24 V or 48 V) — absorbs the gusts and provides a steady source of energy.
- 4. Off-Grid Inverter — connects to the battery, converting stored DC into AC for your appliances.
Why you Cannot Skip the Battery:
- Unstable Voltage: wind changes second by second. Without a battery to smooth it out, a direct-connected inverter would constantly cut out.
- Turbine Damage: when a battery is full or disconnected, the turbine loses its load. Without that resistance the blades can spin out of control in high wind and destroy the unit. The controller uses the battery connection to dump excess power and slow it down.
-
- This turbine generates 3-phase AC power and cannot be connected directly to a battery, a solar controller or a home inverter.
- It must run through a dedicated wind charge controller (pure-wind or wind-solar hybrid) with a dump-load resistor. The dump load stops the turbine over-speeding and destroying itself in high winds once your batteries are full.
- Installation and commissioning must be carried out by a suitably qualified and licensed electrician.
- Cable, breakers, isolators and all protective devices are selected to suit your site and are the electrician's call, not ours.
-
It is almost always one of three installation issues. Check them in order.
Quick Checks — Tick as You Go
- Is the Meter Set to AC Volts (V~)?
- Does it Spin Freely Once Disconnected from the Controller?
- Is the Cable from the Mast Heavy Enough for the Run?
1. The Multimeter is Set to DC — The Most Common Mistake.
- Measuring the three turbine wires with the meter set to DC volts gives a false reading near zero.
- Wind turbines generate 3-phase AC directly from the stator. Switch the meter to AC volts (V~).
2. The Turbine is Stalling Because of a Short.
- The blades turn heavily and slowly, or lock up: if any of the three AC output wires touch each other, or the controller's braking diodes have short-circuited, it acts as a magnetic brake — the turbine can never spin fast enough to build voltage.
- Disconnect the turbine from the controller. If it frees up and spins much faster, the problem is a short in the wiring or a faulty controller.
3. Voltage Drop from Thin Cable.
- Thin solar or automotive cable over 20 metres or more loses the power as heat before it reaches the controller.
- Use heavy cable between the mast and the controller on long runs — minimum 8 AWG, ideally 6 AWG. Final sizing is your electrician's call.
-
- The number in the name is a peak rating, not a promise.
- A turbine's rated output is measured at a specific wind speed — 10 to 14 m/s depending on the model, which is about 36 to 50 km/h — and most sites see far less than that most of the time.
- Your display shows what the wind is delivering right now, so it will sit well below the rated figure and move second by second as the wind changes. That is physics, not a fault.
- As an example, the L2-2500 is rated 2,500 W at 11 m/s. On a decent steady coastal breeze of 7 m/s the manufacturer's own curve gives about 813 W. That is why we publish the full power curve on every horizontal turbine's product page.
- Where these machines earn their keep is time: they keep charging through the night and through the weather that shuts solar down.
- If the display shows 0 W while the blades are spinning, that is a different problem — see the 0 W question.
-
- Not necessarily — this is one of the most common questions we get, and it is rarely a faulty unit.
- It is usually a quick settings check, or (on a first-time install) how the wiring and start-up sequence were done.
- See our full Wind Turbine 0W Troubleshooting Guide for the complete walkthrough, or the Set-Up Guide — or contact us and we will help you sort it out.
-
- Wire your bus bar and breakers before and after the controller, then power up in the right order. Getting the sequence right prevents almost all wiring issues, including the common "spinning but 0 W" problem.
- Fit a breaker before the controller (turbine/solar side) and after it (battery side), landing on a DC bus bar.
- Keep the turbine-to-controller cable run to 2–10 metres to limit voltage drop.
- Power up in this order: battery breaker first, then solar, then wind turbine last.
- See our full How to Install & Start Up guide for the complete step-by-step walkthrough and wiring diagram.
